This week we’re nosing around the finances in someone in the stage before the bliss of owning property. Keira (not her real name, as people can be mean about money), is a 23-year-old PR and Communications Executive living in Bolton, Greater Manchester.

Like many of us, she’s attempting to save enough money to buy her first home.

How Keira saves:

I earn £23,000 a year. I have £125 in my normal savings, and £1,318 in my Help To Buy ISA

I’m saving for…

A house – I’m aiming to start looking for a house Summer 2020

Holidays/City Breaks – I aim to go on two city breaks a year and I’m saving for a beach holidays with my boyfriend for later this year, and for a one week or a two week luxury holiday (e.g. Thailand, Sri Lanka, Jamaica, India) next year.

Car Insurance – I like to pay car insurance annually and want to save ahead of next year’s payment in May

Deposit for new car – I’m due a new car in three years and as I want to go to a different dealer, I need to save up deposit money for that but don’t want it to be a last-minute stretch when that time comes.

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The main way I save is with a Help to Buy ISA and savings account. A minimum of £50 needs to go in my savings account to keep it active but I can dip in and withdraw without penalty)

I struggle with saving because I’m trying to get out of my student overdraft, pay off my credit card (currently £1,050), and enjoy my early 20s with festivals and city breaks.

Plus as I live at home – as does my boyfriend – we like to get out and go for food, try different gyms up and down the country, or have days out.

I also tend to buy clothes on impulse online. I have got better at this and always try to use my student discount whilst I still can and use apps like Quidco. I do try to compensate this with selling clothes on eBay and Depop.

My weekly shops are slightly more expensive than I would like but this is due to being an avid gym goer so food bills tend to be higher. I buy food in for when my boyfriend, who’s a personal trainer, stays over at my house so he has the food he needs for his lunches before he goes to work. He does the same for me so it levels out.

I also buy the food in for my lunches and very rarely buy out or any meal deals, I make my lunch and bring my own snacks 90% of the time. I shop at Aldi but if I nip for a convenience shop, I tend to go to Tesco as it’s across the road from my work.

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I buy petrol from Sainsbury’s as it’s the cheapest near me and I can use my Nectar card.

Keira is a fan of clothes shopping (Picture: Ella Byworth for Metro.co.uk)

How Keira spends:

Monthly expenses:

Help to Buy: £200

Savings £75 – 200

Car Finance: £136.35

Petrol: £50

Credit Card: £200

Apple Music / iCloud: £5.78

Gym: £25

Creamfields Festival Ticket: £39.16 – this was the final payment as I paid on finance.

A week of spending:

Monday: I spend £40 on a full tank of petrol, then £22.14 on a food shop.

I order photos for a photo album using an app’s offer of free prints, but it still costs £3.99 for postage.

Car finance comes out today: £136.35.

Tuesday: Sponsorship for friend raising money for charity is £4.

I spend £10 on perfume. A company visited my work with perfume oils that last longer than regular perfumes. My usual perfumes vary from £50-£101 a bottle and I managed to get a similar scent to my favourite perfume.

Wednesday: £3 on fruit pots at Tesco to snack on in the evening while it’s hot.

£6 on concealer and £12.50 on sandals, all bought on my lunch trip to Tesco while I was picking up a prescription. This isn’t a trip I would usually make, these are impulse buys… although I needed a new concealer.

I spend £20 on my nails, as I get these done every three to four weeks.

Thursday: £17.25 on an Aldi food shop – this was a top-up shop so I could cook tea for me and my boyfriend.

I’ve booked a holiday for £517.50 on my credit card. I used my savings of £125 to pay off a small sum straight away and will begin to pay off £100 each month for my holidays from now.

Friday: I went to Birmingham for the weekend with my boyfriend – something we’d had booked in the diary for a while. We tried to split everything fairly, e.g. he paid for petrol to drive down, so I paid for taxis, he’d pay for one meal, me the next etc. we were both on annual leave Friday to Sunday so it was a big treat weekend.

I spent £35 on new gym gear. My old gym gear is getting really tatty and worn and so I treated myself to some new pants and sports bra as they were on a special offer for £35 for both as opposed to my usual prices which are £30-40 for pants and £25-30 for a sports bra/vest.

I also spent £4.04 at Tesco, but I can’t remember what I actually spent this on.

Lunch is at The Lean Kitchen for £17.90.

Saturday: £23.27 on Ubers, then £72 at Primark. All of this is set to be returned this Saturday when I next get a chance to nip to town. I’m aiming to exchange two items so this will cost around £30, so theoretically I should get a £42.00 refund

At H&M I spend £12.99 – again, this dress is being exchanged or returned if I cannot find it in my local store.

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At Topshop I spend £18. I only really shop here when stuff is on sale, so I got two bargains.

At Lush I pay £13.45 for solid deodorant and solid shampoo and conditioner.

A meal at Slug and Lettuce sets me back £40.85, then I spend £29.06 at Popworld dance club.

Travelodge wifi costs £3.

I end the day with a PayPal refund to a customer through Depop for £5.60.

Sunday: £6 on Greggs.

Total spent this week: £668.89

How Keira could save better:

We spoke to the experts over at money tracking app Cleo to find out how Keira can save better (and what we can learn from her spending).

Note: the advice featured is specific to one individual and doesn’t constitute financial advice, especially for a London budget.

Just an all round applause for thinking three years ahead for a car deposit. Do you even need me? Yes.

Main vice:

The night is dark and full of discount leggings. You’re a magpie for deals (your biggest category is shopping and treats – knocking back 96% of your weekly budget on clothes).

The trouble is these temptations pop up anywhere. Your biggest expense on your romantic weekend away? Clothes. Limit yourself to only shopping online so you can stop being drawn in 24/7. Resist! Your one offs are overwhelming you.

Where you’re going wrong:

Minus your monthly expenses and saving goals, you’ve got £683.22 to work with each month. This week you threw down £857.27. (Small problem).

Big goals are great. But you aren’t gonna hit them. Knock one goal off. If you’re not happy doing that – then clip those magpie wings.

Spending plan:

Pay off: £100 a month

Save: £400 a month. Half to ISA, half to holidays and future house costs. I’m forgetting that car deposit

Spend: £430 monthly /£100 weekly £14.35 daily. Anything from groceries to toiletries, to after work pints

How I Save is a weekly series about how people spend and save, out every Thursday. If you’d like to anonymously share how you spend and save – and get some expert advice on how to sort out your finances – get in touch by emailing ellen.scott@metro.co.uk.